Intent:
When thinking about this project, the first location to come to mind was the reflection pools that run through the center of the University. They are a beautiful feature that adds a great atmosphere to the campus.
Technique:
While brainstorming ideas i decided i wanted to still capture the beauty of the gentle waters while infusing a more futuristic look with the projection. For this reason i decided to go with the "caustics" material since it resembled water slightly and still had an interesting look. I decided to go with blue for the material because i feel it does a good job of tying the animation into the environment around it while still having a unique flair that sets it apart.
Final thoughts:
While working in MadMapper for this assignment I explored some of the options and tools available. Seeing some of the flexibility provided i am very intrigued to try some spherical projections and explore the 360 projection features to see what is really possible.
One of my favorite parts of campus that I believe to be severely underrated is the greenery around and behind the McDermott library. I took a snapshot of the side of the library that I thought would make for a visually compelling setting. One of my favorite things the library provides is access to the streaming service, Kanopy. Kanopy's library has documentaries, educational films, and classic cinema. My concept came from an idea I had for a classic cinema film festival to promote Kanopy. Using the library as my hypothetical location for the event I created two compositions for both marketing purposes and a display at the event itself.
Technique
I followed the MadMapper online and in-class tutorials pretty much to duplication. However, I did toy with some things and try to experiment. In my first composition I used snippets of classic films projected onto various surfaces in the library area to grab the attention of passers by. This would be a great way to market the event if there were volunteers with flyers nearby. I layered placeholder quads over the desired spaces and after sizing filled in my media. For some clips I used an add blend mode and others were multiply- whatever looked best.
For my second composition I did the same process for the "logo" in the upper left hand corner but tried something less geometric. I loved the idea of projecting on to the lush plants but doing this in MadMapper was not easy. I had to create a mask with dozens of points on it to give the mask a curved edge appearance. It seemed impossible to mask around every individual leaf so I softened the edges but the only way to get rid of the harsh lines was to use a dark media. I went with the glowing blob thing (the name has escaped me) and chose the multiply blend mode to make the background blend in more. The subtle reddish glow gives the leaves that are almost not noticeable at dark a new dynamic function in the environment. Another subtler touch was the cloudy ground below that I added to balance out the other elements in color and placement.
Interpretation/Final Products
I think the composition that utilized the actual movie footage turned out great! The second could use some more work or conceptual tooling. In the future, I will take shadow into consideration a little more when taking my picture and/or planning a physical project. The overhang creates a lovely darkness that makes it easy to project under but in my second mock-up it is not fully clear that the pillars are present. I am pleased with the outcome, considering this is my time using MadMapper.
Leslie McCracken - assignment_01
The Back ground that I choose was in the ATEC building near the front entrance to the left. I choose this place because of the two big flat walls an the small middle wall that is in the middle of them. I also like that the wall where not all white but had a cool color to them.
So while I was working on my first assignment, I really like the color blue. Going with a darker shade of blue is more appealing to others and easy on the eyes then when someone were to use a brighter more vibrant shape of blue. Blue is such a calming color that if it is combined with a motion that is slow, it will give off a more serein feeling to it. when determining the speed that I wanted the projection to go it gave off a better feel when its movements were at a slower pace then when it was moving at a faster pace.
when working on this I found out that I preferred geometric shape, such as line and rectangles and squares. Using shapes like rectangle give of a more organize vibe then using something that is more organic. I wanted to more organized feeling when working on assignment 01.
For the first Projection Mapping project, I wanted to show a futuristic world. With this idea in mind I decided to take a picture of the ATEC building. What better way to show a futuristic world than our very own arts and technology building. I looked around the building but ultimately decided to go with the courtyard area. The day that I took the picture the area seemed pretty grim as it was cloudy and had been previously raining. The weather that day gave me another idea for this project. Since the weather that day was uninviting, I went with a futuristic world that's gone wrong theme. In this futuristic world you can see a screen with a lot of noise with the text,"THIS IS NOT A TEST". This gives the composition a feeling that this world is experiencing something urgent or dangerous. Not giving a lot context gives the viewer an opportunity to come up with many scenarios of what could be going on the scene. Technique
I started by creating quads and putting them over the places I wanted to project on. At first I was going to use mesh warping to adjust what I wanted to project on, but I found later that the material was also being warped so I decided to cover the building with different quads not just one. After that I masked parts I didn't want it to project on like the statue in the middle and the bridge on the left corner.
After that, I added the glowing lines around the building to show movement and a futuristic aspect. I also added text on the building to give the effect that something is wrong in this world. I also added an effect on the text to make it look like it's glitching. Final Product My approach on this project made me more aware of all the possibilities that I could create.
Concept
After thinking about how to approach the project, I decided to roll with the theme of inspiration and connection. The University of Texas at Dallas provides a lot of students with resources for development as well as for growth, and taking from that, I wanted to find a way to capture that. I took some pictures of buildings around campus where I saw students walk in and I decided to base them as the canvas of my assignment.
Technique
I went about by trying to capture a good spatial shot at night. I wanted to capture some pictures that would be optimized for projection mapping. I looked for a good angle of the building where we could get a good view of the projections without terrible distortions. I took a few different pictures on campus of my findings. I wanted to capture the essence of the school as well as the aura that it promotes. As such, I found it best to keep with the school's colors and new logo.
Interpretation
I believe that the school has a sort of mystical feel, with all of the students playing the role of collaborators within the network, connecting with one another. I feel like I captured it in my first piece. To me, it kind of reminds me of worker bees coming together to serve one common purpose; to better ourselves and our world. I used the schools logo in the center as it provides a literal reminder to the connection being drawn. In hindsight, two of my pictures didn't quite come out as planned, but I treat it as a learning experience.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I learned a little more about Madmapper. While I wish I had spent a lot more time perfecting every single angle and arranging elements, I'm looking forward to spending hours and hours within the software and I already have had actual situations that I could have used it for!
For this project, I we were assigned to take pictures around campus of locations we felt provided and interesting space to project ideas onto. This meant looking for spaces with unique surfaces and interesting angles.
With the SLC Building projection, I wanted to use the colors of the campus. My first time walking back on campus this semester happened to be walking through those buildings. With the use of the campus colors, it was like re-immersing myself in the campus life.
With the Plinth Projection, I wanted to capture my thought process for when I work on calculus. I struggle so much with the subject, but it is a crucial part of my career. The lower panels in the projection represent the physical processes of writing down my work and proving them. The higher panels represent the haze in my mind that Calculus causes me and the lines represent the little, but firm execution i have regarding the subject.
Techniques
This was my first time using the MadMapper Software for any project. I started out by making quads with a checker pattern so that I could map onto surfaces with ease. This helped with making sure the projection looked more realistic by placing them in perspective angles. After I laid out all of the quads and line, I began to apply masks to cut out portions of the projection that wouldn't be visible. I applied the "add" filter over most of the quads to simulate a more realistic look.
Interpretation
This project has made me more familiar with the basics of MadMapper and I look forward to making many more interesting art pieces. Whether on a picture on your screen, or on a real surface of a building, projection offers one of the best ways to fully immerse yourself in a world of your choice.
Concept
When I heard that we had to select a location on campus I was excited. I've been scouting locations for a personal project and the new engineering building has made it to the top of my list of venues. When walking in, you pass under a little over pass before entering into the courtyard. I thought that area would be a perfect place to experiment with drawing an audience into an environment. Both the concepts that I chose for the presets are made to cater to an audience entering a special event inside the courtyard; so it primes them for the environment and expectation. I decided to go with two of my happy places for themes: the inside of a shark tunnel at an aquarium and the lantern scene from Tangled. I'll expand the designs further below.
Techniques
The first task was getting photos, which proved to be a bit difficult. Although I had went to take them later in the day, the building was well lit. So, once I got the shot that I wanted, I took it into photoshop, applied a mask, and decreased the brightness in certain areas.
The change was subtle but it helped the overall composition in the end.
Next, I decided what areas I wanted to project and mapped out where by quads would be. I experimented with the use of masks and inverting selections to better cover the selected areas. I added lines to the railing on either side of the ceiling.
Once I had my areas mapped, I started to play around with the given presets and learn more about how Madmapper works.
For the aquarium theme, I wanted to recreate the tunnel effect by playing clips of fish above the audience so they could pass under it the same way. It was difficult to find clips from the proper lower perspective, so I switched to the peaceful swimming patterns of blue whales for the ceiling. On the side wall I used a clip from a live feed on an aquarium to simulate a glass tank. For the small benches, I projected water to help go along with the theme and to further immerse the audience member.
In order to replicate the sky lantern ambiance, I wanted to find a vertical perspective from the ground up of the lantern floating away. There was a small section in the Tangled scene that had this angle so I looped the clip for that section. I duplicated the video and went to particular parts in the scene to better accent the overall composition. For example, the side wall is a adjacent view of the lanterns floating up. I hope this design makes Tangled fans out there proud.
Interpretation
This past summer I went to a shark marinarium which is an aquarium you can actually swim in out in the open ocean. I called the final design Whale Marinarium because I want the viewer to feel like they are up close to the beautiful giants of the deep, in the water swimming with them and experiencing their tranquility. The song I added is from the Finding Nemo soundtrack: "Field Trip" by Thomas Newman.
The final look of my second preset took me back to the atmosphere of Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida.. They always play scores and soundtracks as people experience the worlds they create. So, I added a clip from Tangled's soundtrack: "The Tear Heals."
I hope to one day make beautiful experiences like Disney does in their mesmerizing parks.
